The Ministry of Interior in Bahrain on Friday said that Iran struck a hotel and two residential buildings in the capital Manama, correcting another previous announcement that two hotels and one residential building were hit. The attack from Iran comes a day after an Iranian missile strike sparked a blaze at Bahrain’s main state-owned oil refinery, as Tehran pressed attacks across the Gulf.
“Iranian aggression targeted a hotel & 2 residential buildings in Manama,” Bahrain’s interior ministry posted on X, reporting “no loss of life”. The ministry said the attack sparked a fire in one of the residential buildings, which had been extinguished. The ministry also announced that it had intercepted at least two drone attacks in the Al Kharj Governorate and Eastern Region.
Qatar intercepts drone attacking Al Udeid Air Base
In the meantime, Qatar intercepted a drone attack that targeted Al Udeid Air Base, Doha’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday morning.
Iran launched more missiles at Israel and US bases as the war in the Middle East entered its seventh day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early on Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles.
Israel begins strikes against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the state news agency.
ย
Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.Six US troops have been killed.
US closes its embassy in Kuwait
It’s the second diplomatic mission to fully suspend operations since the start of the Iran war. “While there have been no reported injuries to US personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the US Department of State,” it said in a statement about the status of the embassy in Kuwait City.
Shortly before the announcement, the department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called the Kuwaiti foreign minister to express condolences for the deaths of at least two Kuwaiti troops in Iranian retaliatory strikes. Although numerous US embassies and consulates in the Middle East have closed to the public since the war began, only the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, had suspended operations.